[HISTORY: Adopted by the Commissioners of the Town of Princess Anne as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Moving of buildings — See Ch. 55.
Erosion and sediment control — See Ch. 73.
Floodplain management — See Ch. 79.
Historic districts — See Ch. 88.
Housing standards — See Ch. 91.
Subdivision of land — See Ch. 138.
Temporary structures — See Ch. 145.
Zoning — See Ch. 163.
[Adopted 12-4-1991 as Ch. V, Art. 2 of the 1991 Code]
A. 
Before issuing a permit as provided in this article, the Code Enforcement Officer shall examine the application, plans and specifications and shall examine the building, structure or site for which an application for a permit has been filed to ascertain that the work to be done would conform to the requirements and standards of this Code.
B. 
The Code Enforcement Officer shall, from time to time, make such periodic examinations during the progress of the work, including a final inspection, to ensure compliance with this Code.
C. 
The Code Enforcement Officer shall keep a record thereof, on which record shall be noted all violations of the Code and the action taken thereon.
In the discharging of duties, the Code Enforcement Officer shall have the authority to enter at any reasonable hour any building, structure or premises to enforce the provisions of this Code.
Upon taking the oath of office and qualifying as Code Enforcement Officer, the President and Commissioners of Princess Anne shall issue to the Code Enforcement Officer a commission certifying his or her official authority.
It is the express desire of the President and Commissioners of Princess Anne that the assistance of the police, Fire Marshal, Fire Department, health officials and all other local officials be available to the Code Enforcement Officer in the performance of his or her duties.
[Amended 8-7-1995 by Ord. No. 95-13; 12-10-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-11; 7-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2011-01; 7-5-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-10]
A. 
All those provisions set forth in the Maryland Building Performance Standards, as amended from time to time, including the model codes and standards are incorporated therein by reference, only to the extent to which such model codes and standards are incorporated into the Maryland Building Performance Standards, are hereby adopted by reference and shall be cited as the “Princess Anne Building Code.” All of the provisions of said Maryland Building Performance Standards are hereby adopted and incorporated as if set out at length herein; and from the date on which this chapter takes effect, the provisions thereof shall be controlling for all buildings within the corporate limits of the Town of Princess Anne, Maryland.
B. 
The 2009 International Residential Code, Appendix G, pool and spa requirements, is hereby adopted, and the provisions thereof shall be controlling for swimming pools, hot tubs and spas within the corporate limits of the Town of Princess Anne, Maryland.
It shall be unlawful for any person to erect, reconstruct, repair or remove any building or structure within the Town except in compliance with this Code and without obtaining in advance a building permit from the Town Code Enforcement Officer authorizing such action, which permit shall be issued only after a finding that the proposed work will meet the requirements of this Code.
Each applicant for a permit from the Town Code Enforcement Officer shall make application therefor, in writing, upon forms to be furnished by the Town Code Enforcement Officer, accompanied by triplicate copies of the specifications and the plans drawn to scale with sufficient clarity and detailed dimensions as to show the nature and character of the work to be performed, together with the fee for issuance of the permit as herein provided. The Town Code Enforcement Officer may waive the requirements for filing plans if the work involved is of a minor nature.
Ordinary repairs may be made without application for permit, but such repairs shall not include any change that affects the strength or stability of the building or any structural part thereof; removal or change of any required means of egress; or the alteration, removal, relocation or replacement of essential parts of the service equipment of the building that affects the health and safety of the occupants of the building or the public.
A. 
The fees for building permits issued by the Town Code Enforcement Officer shall be set by the President and Commissioners of Princess Anne by resolution from time to time.
[Amended 3-6-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-03]
B. 
Where work for which a permit is required by this Code is started or proceeded with prior to obtaining said permit, the fee shall be doubled, but the payment of such doubled fee shall not relieve any person from fully complying with the requirements of this Code and the execution of the work nor from any other penalties prescribed herein.
A. 
The Code Enforcement Officer shall act as an ex officio plumbing inspector and shall have all the powers and perform all the duties concerned with that office.
B. 
The Code Enforcement Officer shall act as an ex officio electrical inspector and shall have all the powers and perform all the duties concerned with that office.
C. 
It shall be the duty of the Code Enforcement Officer to see to the enforcement of all ordinance provisions relating to building or zoning and to inspect all buildings or structures being erected or altered as frequently as may be necessary to ensure compliance with Town ordinances.
D. 
The Code Enforcement Officer shall have the power to order all work stopped on construction or alteration or repair of buildings in the Town when such work is being done in violation of the building and zoning ordinances of the Town. Work shall not be resumed after issuance of such an order except on the written permission of the Code Enforcement Officer, provided that the oral stop orders shall be followed by a written stop order within one hour. Such written stop order may be served by any law enforcement officer employed by the Town of Princess Anne, Somerset County or the State of Maryland.
[Amended 3-6-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-03]
E. 
The Code Enforcement Officer shall not be directly or indirectly interested in the building business in any way and shall not be directly or indirectly interested in any building contractor business, building supply business, building material business or insurance business dealing with building contractors who perform any services within the Town limits of Princess Anne.
A violation of this article shall be declared a municipal infraction and shall be subject to a penalty as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, § 1-8 of this Code.
[Adopted 2-3-1992]
Every place of lodging with six rooms for rent, inn, hotel, motel, restaurant, bar, establishment serving food or drink, place of exhibition or entertainment, place of public gathering, bakery, grocery store, clothing store, hardware store, shopping center, sales or rental establishment, laundromat, dry cleaner, bank, barbershop, beauty shop, travel service, shoe repair service, funeral parlor, gas station, accountant's office, lawyer's office, pharmacy, insurance office, health care provider, hospital or other service establishment, site used for public transportation, place of education, day-care center, senior citizen center or other social service center establishments and other commercial facilities shall be designed, constructed or altered to the maximum extent feasible for the facility to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities as required by the Federal Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards.
A. 
No owner, lessor, lessee or operator of the foregoing existing public accommodations shall be relieved from the responsibility to provide for barrier-free accommodations to the disabled unless first securing a waiver on the basis that the removal is not readily achievable because of:
(1) 
The nature and cost of the action;
(2) 
The financial resources of the facility available, the effect on expenses and their resources, the number of persons employed and impact on the operation of the facility;
(3) 
The overall financial resources and employment of an overall covered entity and the number, type and location of its facilities; and
(4) 
The type of operation and the composition, structure and function of its work force and the geographic, administrative and fiscal relationship of its facilities to determine if barrier removal is easily accomplishable and may be carried out without much difficulty or expense.
B. 
Where a waiver is granted, approved satisfactory alternative access shall be provided.
No new or otherwise altered construction or altered use of improvements shall fail to comply with this article unless it is demonstrated that it is structurally impracticable to meet the standards required in this article.
The exemptions of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 with regard to private clubs and places of worship shall apply.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall be responsible for the enforcement of this article. Any aggrieved party may appeal a decision of the Code Enforcement Officer to the President and Commissioners.